THE POL
All hail
All hail
We will prevail
We cannot fail
Sing out
All hail
They will turn tail
And we will prevail

Put them in jail
And make them pay
For all the ways
They broke your heart
They broke apart
The world you care about

All hail

Help yourself
You help yourself
But no one else
Make them pay
And make them wait
Take them down
And make them late

Can’t defend
They just want to spend
All hail
We will prevail
You want to save
The world you care about

All hail

Right is right
Wrong is bad
You’ve just been had
The old white men
Run the game
No more change
Stay the same
(What did you say?)

All hail

Hail the thrall
Hail the rich
The poor will crawl
The poor get sick
The poor will die
We thin the herd
Get back on track
Blind faith alone
Is all you lack
Trust in us
We’ll bring you through
We’ll buy your dreams
And sell them back to you
And all it costs
To lose control
You pay in time
With your soul

All hail
All hail

We will prevail
We cannot fail
We cannot fail

HIS WIFE

He doesn’t listen to me
Why would he listen to you?
The stuff they make him say
The shit they put him through
The man I married then
Is not the man you see
You can say what you like
He doesn’t listen to me
I used to dream of a future
With a political man
With the power to change
In the palm of his hand
It was a long time ago for me
To care about

I used to hope for the best
I put those dreams to rest
Everything I believe
Has been put to the test
Love and family
Are just things in his past
But it drags on and on
All of my spirit is dashed
And all my hope is gone
And I cry myself to sleep
But it just doesn’t help
I will either kill him
Or end up killing myself

HIS DAUGHTER

Daddy
Daddy
I need to talk to you
I need you to listen
Daddy
Daddy
What’s happening to me
Since you been missing

Daddy
Those poor people you’re always talking down
I’ve become one of them with you not around
And I’m having a baby myself
And I need my daddy
To care about me

HIS MENTOR

Well, well, well
What have we here?
Staring up from my pocket,
Why it’s a little man!
What does he want,
And what does he want to be?
And does he know that all that
Comes down to me?

He’s just another hungry cavity
Waiting to be stuffed with money,
A soul full of gaping holes,
The very kind we specialize in plugging
As he leads a tribe of know-nothings
Who linger on his every word,
Believe him to be their savior
In these trouble times
And I can’t help but laugh
As I move his feeding bottle
Closer to his waiting lips.

Hospital Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music

Background Music (Dave Schramm)

In the background
there’s always music playing
somewhere
just like the sunlight shining
everywhere
under the moon and stars
it’s on the air
and you can’t shake it

But oh
I’m always kind of shaking
You know
I find it so unnerving
and so
I’m trying to ignore it

in the background
there is a memory of the
things we said
made sure we made up before we
went to bed
so that tomorrow we can
keep the thread
and we can’t shake it

But oh
I’m always kind of shaking
You know
I find it so inhuman
and so
I’ll take it for a warning

on the periphery
just out of sight but in our
mind’s eye
there’s all this noise that makes me
wanna cry
just wanna listen to a
lullaby
but I can’t shake it
in the background

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Been There, Done That (Dave Schramm)

What would you want to be
if suddenly you woke
Woke from your reverie to find
You could be
any thing
any fool or any king
Darling I know
it’s not enough

What would you want to say
if finally you spoke
Spoke of the everyday that’s gone
what we lost
and what it cost
men were men
and fools were kings
Darling you know
you got it wrong

Don’t you see
it needs to be
The world made new
new for you

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Bug House Queen (Peter Blegvad)

With her wasp waist
and her hopper hips,
with her flies undone
and her bee-stung lips,
in her the Bug House
has found its Queen.

Every bug
that ever crawled,
that swung from webs
or clung to walls —
every bug that was ever called unclean

is made to feel
like they belong,
is made to kneel
and sing her song:
God save our gracious Bug House Queen.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

By The Broke Streetlight (Freedy Johnston)

Wait for me
Later on tonight
Wait for me darlin’
By the broke, by the broke streetlight

We’ll be in the valley
Right around daylight
So wait for me
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight

I can tell the way you’re pourin’ my coffee
You’ve been waitin’ for some time
To walk right out of this place

So wait for me
Later on tonight
Wait for me darlin’

By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight

I can tell the way you’re looking at me
You’ve been lookin’ for someone
To drive you out of this town

So wait for me
Just out of sight
Wait for me darlin’
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight
By the broke, by the broke streetlight

Trouble Tree Music (BMI)

Clacton on Sea, Off Season (Peter Blegvad)

Just you and a few OAPs
in a sea of empty seats,
watching the matinee
on a cold grey Saturday
in Clacton on Sea
off season.

You only came in to get warm,
seeking sanctuary, shelter from the storm.
Now you drift between your dreams
and what’s up there on the screen,
and as the film unfolds you don’t what gives,
yet it hits you where you live.
It really shakes you up,
nearly wakes you up,
in Clacton on Sea
off season.

The sound is as clear as a bell
in a tongue you don’t know well.
The subtitles are in
a form of Mandarin,
in Clacton on Sea
off season.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Côte d’Azur (Peter Blegvad)

I’m taking it slow
I’m keeping it pure.
Spread out below
is the Côte d’Azur.

And it looks like snow
but you can’t be sure.
You never know
on the Côte d’Azur.

You can’t believe
you used to be so blue.
Now for free the sea will be
glad to do that for you.

The dream they drew
in the brochure
has all come true
on the Côte d’Azur.

We’re so rich
we’re out of reach,
we’re at the top of the heap
at the bottom of which
people sleep on the beach.

Life’s a bitch,
and gold’s manure,
they make the switch
on the Côte d’Azur.

Here’s to our health,
here’s to our right
to see ourselves reflected back
in a kinder light.

For all our wealth
we never felt secure
until by stealth
we hit the Côte d’Azur.

We came here sick
seeking a cure.
Sure did the trick,
the Côte d’Azur.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Dead to Me (Peter Holsapple)
You’re dead to me
After what you said to me
Dead to me
after what you did
you got to be kidding me
and it’s not killing me
to say you’re dead to me

Everybody sees you in a different light
And nobody else was there with you that night
but when I saw with my own eyes
exactly what you are

Everybody says they think you’re great
Everybody says that cause they took your bait
But I bore witness to your sudden demise
And I was in that car

You’re dead to me
After what you said to me
Dead to me
after what you did
you got to be kidding me
and it’s not killing me
to say you’re dead to me

Nobody knows the full charade
Or the extent of the fools you played
And what would’ve happened if you’d stayed
And not split instead

Your reputation’s still intact
As a matter of fact, your bags are long since packed
You’ve made your day, you’re on your way
but you’re dead to me

dead to me
That’s how I need you to be
Dead to me
After what you did to me
It’s all that’s left for me
to do to you, you see?
So you’re dead to me

You were living in the past
But the present made it known
That the future’s flown so fast
The only way that it could have gone was that

Dead to me…

Hospital Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music

Don’t Ever Leave (Peter Holsapple)

Don’t ever leave don’t ever go
please stick around we need you so
you make us feel like we all felt before only
hundreds and thousands and millions times more

we’ll keep you safe from that part of the night
when they tie you in tangles and toss you from heights
and on your way down just say you’ll try
and not ever leave without saying goodbye

and when you believe you done all you can
and when you decide you’ve had all you can stand
we can’t stand in your way if that’s what you believe
but don’t ever leave

Hospital Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music

Don’t Mention the War (Peter Holsapple)

When uncle Lonnie stays at our house
We’re quiet as a mouse
We don’t want to wake him
We don’t want to shake him up
Let him sleep

He was always our favorite uncle
Probably our favorite relative of all
No one told funnier jokes
And no one drove longer hauls
He was sweet to Mom and Aunt Penny
He drank beer with my dad and the guys
Then he drove a truck in the war overseas
And something changed old Lonnie inside

Short of temper, slow to respond
Overthinking til half his mind is gone
Too sad and too mad to tell jokes anymore
And he takes lots of trips to the liquor store
Passes out on our couch, that’s when he dreams
You can tell when he jumps and he cusses and screams
And he sweats and he shouts and turns white as a sheet
And he gives off a smell that’s like old rotten meat
And he opens his eyes he’s still seeing what’s dead
And he’s trying to get back on our couch in his head

To me, he will always be Lonnie van Zant
“the missing brother” he’d always say
He wasn’t very good on guitar
But he’d never say no if you wanted to play
Zeppelin and Cream, living the dream
It always sounded alright when we jammed
He hasn’t picked up a guitar for almost three years
I can barely recognize him as the same man

I love him to death for the man that he wa
You can never take memories like that away from me
I love him to death but there’s times I wish he’d just die
So he’d finally get himself a little peace

So don’t mention the war
What’d’ya wanna go and do that for
He’ll tell you those stories that make your skin crawl
Like they’ve always done, so I’m begging y’all
Don’t mention the war

Hospital Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music

Eleven (Dave Schramm)

you will come
and I will go
we’ll seldom see
the other one
another time
we’ll see that lake
and all the things
we wanted to

and then we’ll have the time
of our lives
when the timing is

riding on
the boat with her
she names the waves
and sings a song
tells me she’s
invincible
she had it covered
all along

and then we’ll have the time
of our lives
when the timing is right

I will say goodnight
when eleven comes again

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Ghosts and the Grey (Dave Schramm)

Tell me I’m an innocent
tell me I’m no fun
show me all that’s int’resting shining in the sun
and I will wait for you
to gather up your things
hold the gate for you
until we’re moving homeward
to our world
far from all the ghosts and the grey

Tell me why you’re curious
tell me you’ll be strong
show me every little thing I’m always doing wrong
and I will wait for you
to gather in your wings
hold a place for you
so we can wander homeward
to our world
far from all the ghosts and the grey

It wasn’t clear to me
never near to me
every word spoken soft and low
was spok’ for more than me

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Girlfriend (Kate Jacobs)

She likes to keep track of her old boyfriends
She likes to make contact, maybe make amends
If she left him, she still finds cause to doubt it
If he left her she wants to be sure
he knows she’s not still mad about it

She like to call up around 3 a.m.
She likes to hear their voices now and then
The funny thing is they don’t seem to mind it
Their wives may groan, but they’ll sometimes pick up the phone if they can find it

She was the one who made anyone’s life a bit better
With you by her side she’d bring you on a ride
If you would let her
They will thank her all their lives
For making their world brighter
Kiss their children, hold their wives
Their hearts a little lighter

She’s loyal and true to her girlfriends too
You know you’re with your friend when she’s with you
In a coffee shop she’ll talk and laugh and listen
You love each other but you never were her lover so there’s always something missing

She’d never call me in the dead of night
But I have dialed her number once or twice
In all these years, sometimes I need reminding
Hearts still beat, mornings can be sweet and that the fun is still worth finding

She was the one who made anyone’s life a bit better
With you by her side she’d bring you on a ride
If you would let her
I will miss her all my life
Even when I’m with her
It’s dark here by the light she shines
So I’ll always miss her
I’ll miss her.

Small Pond Music (BMI)

Golden Helmet (Peter Blegvad)

When a knight retires,
he lives alone
in a thatch roof cottage
made of local stone.

Was there once a lady?
Maybe so.
He doesn’t say,
so we don’t know.

Up in the attic
under lots of dust,
his chain mail armour
turning red with rust.

His Toledo blade,
now gone dull,
his shield and banner
with the painted skull.

He tells a tinker
‘Take it all away,
but leave my golden helmet,
let the helmet stay.’

When a knight retires,
he has noisy dreams.
he remembers how his helmet
amplified the screams

of men dismembered,
torn limb from limb.
At night it all
comes back to him.

When he wakes again
he’s always glad to find
now the war is only
in his mind

He thanks his stars
he survived all that,
to replace his helmet
with an old straw hat.

When a knight retires
his only plan
is to live in peace and quiet
like a gentle man.

He makes a modest living
selling honey and cheese,
and his golden helmet
is a hive for bees.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Halfway Home (Dave Schramm)

If I keep on walking
the road will wind me round
if I see the ends of the earth
I’ll just be halfway home

breathless as in water
endless as in echoes
floating as in dreams come true
I’m almost halfway home

If your candle gutters
if your voice it falters
wrap your arms around me now
you’re almost halfway home

If I keep on talking
I might have things to say
just keep the lines open please
I’m almost halfway home

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Hearts and Diamonds (Dave Schramm)

My darling takes her supper
my darling reads her mail
though she may not seem to suffer now
her heart is like a jail

when sense and sound are sharpened
and your soul is like a knife
let your heart be like a diamond now
black as coal, clear as ice

Do you think that there’s another
Who feels just the same as you?
You may look but you may never know
A heart devoted to.

Find a heart devoted to
And keep that tension true
Go walking on – walking on the water

Her heart is like a diamond
Her soul is clear as ice
She does not seem to suffer now
her heart’s devoted to

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

I Had a Dream (Peter Blegvad)

I had a dream
that I could really play.
I dreamed that people were happy
happy to pay.

It all seems so real
until it fades away.
I had a dream
that I could really sing.

I had a band behind me
and man they could really swing.
But I knew I must be dreaming
and dreams don’t mean a thing.

I had a dream
that I was wide awake.
Everything was so real
it made the real seem fake.
As soon as I stopped dreaming
I knew I’d made a real mistake.

Copyright control by Peter Blegvad

Long Story Short (Dave Schramm)

Tell me everything I’ve heard is a lie
and I’ll believe you
but something tells me that this look in your eye
is not for me
I used to think that I had all I could want
but now honestly I don’t
make this long story short
say the word turn the page
when you leave

maybe we can live happily in
the ever after
where I can hold your place and you can pour my tea
do people really think that all – all’s fair?
(oh I don’t really care)
make this long story short
say the word turn the page when you leave

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Lousy Song (Dave Schramm)

There’s that same lousy song
on the jukebox all night long
late at night, broad daylight
it’s so wrong
What’s their name, what kind of game
I guess they have no shame
through the window into my head
what goes on?

Could it be a swift spark of love
would ever hope to animate her face?
But I don’t wanna play that melody anymore

While you’re there it’s so rare
to catch a smile there
on the bed with the curtains drawn
life goes on
She loved that song and sang along
every time it came on
all the changes spinnin’ in my head
on and on

Could it be a swift spark of love
would ever hope to animate her face?
But I don’t wanna play that melody anymore

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Man of Few Words (Dave Schramm)

she said
oh drop dead
he said nothing (she laughed)
caus nothing’s all that she wants from him
she said
roses?
he said nothing (she laughed)
and nothing ever would break their spell
now she’ll walk
in moon light
and she’ll talk
talk like it’s a sunny day

he said
you misread
heard what you wanted
and you wanted diamonds and roses too
but she knows
how love goes
it just goes to show you
there’s something mad about give and get
now she’ll walk
through sunshine
but she’ll talk
talk like it’s a rainy day

since words keep failing you
I’ll just keep talking til you notice

she said
you’re leaving?
he said nothing (she cried)
and nothing’s all they have left to say
now she’ll walk
through sunshine
but she’ll talk
talk like it’s a rainy day
talk like it’s a rainy day

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

My Father’s Face (Peter Blegvad)

From Penzance we were heading back
to Paddington on broken track
which slowed our progress to a crawl
and tried the patience of us all.
I drew my father as he slept.
Under his protection I was kept.
A light went on, a whistle blew,
I knew I had a job to do.
I knew it was the time and place
to erase my father’s face.

My father wasn’t good with kids.
He rolled his eyes beneath the lids.
Did he dream what I had done?
Did he dream his eyes were gone?
My eraser travelled south,
taking out his nose and mouth.
I never dreamed a father’s face
could be so easy to erase.

Our progress slowed from crawl to creep.
Only dad was fast (asleep).
Knowing nothing of my prank,
oblivious, his face a blank.
In blue I drew him two new eyes
which blinked at me in mute surprise.
A whole new nose I drew in place
of the one I’d just erased.
His new mouth took a breath and spoke:
“This has gone beyond a joke.”
Then it moaned as if in pain
So I rubbed it out again.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Mr. Control (Jody Harris)

Hey little one in the high school ring
You will be checking in with him
Sad finger tender on your face
All the mistakes are in his pocket
The mansions are in his grace
He owns every implication of the game

Like the courthouse boy you smile his smile
His word is like your skin
You may bite light bulbs in the alley
But you belong to him
Dream of engines behind the stars
Like smoke slips through your hand
To cigarettes and chopping in your room

Mister Control –
You understand
Moon in the mirror; cold prison yard
Thief on the street, woman of means, dreamer of dreams
You bet your sweet life you’ll do what you can
for Mister Control

Pretty rags, pretty rags
He wears you downtown
But without your love the situation falls
Situation in the Hotel Blonde
Just a little spoonful of Washington
Behind the glass he trembles

Mister Control –
Am That I Am
Nearer and nearer; don’t go too far
Thief on the street, dreamer of dreams, who’s the man?
You bet your sweet life you’ll do what you can
for Mister Control

Oh My (I Gotta Write a New Song) (Peter Holsapple)

Oh my
I have to start a new song
I have to sing a new tune
And send it off to you soon

I gotta write this song so I can sound like I did
When the words fell out and the idea took hold
It wasn’t easy but little by little I followed
Then the muse went cold

I persevered and the pencil scraped along for a bit
I can’t presume that what I’ve written isn’t just shit
Never had to before, put it up against
Does it all make sense?

Oh my, time flies
Deadlines and alibis
Knife edge, out on the ledge
Oh and

I gotta write this new song right away
I gotta write this new song later today
I took a look at what was scrawled in lines on a page
I realized that revisions were called for at once
Took my eraser, losing line after line after line
That’s just fine

Considered starting over, ditching it all
I wasn’t sensing the urgency I recalled
The way it started it was born of anxiety
Indeed, we shall see.

Oh my, time flies
Deadlines and alibis
Inspired and so tired
Oh my, time flies

And in an instant, I was able to see for myself
That what I’d written was for my own mental health
To take the process back from where I’d led it astray one day
I gotta write this down so I can hear what I said
In the conversations going on in my head
I was there for it all, but what got heard?
Not a single word

Hospital Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music

On my monitor, I saw her
Tall, young, slim, blonde
On my monitor
A small screen popped on

A little byte of news I’d really rather miss
Her expression is confused, he’s got her by the wrist
She’s at a gas station
In northern Florida
Anyone could tell you we have seen the last of her

On my monitor
I saved her
Tall, young, slim, scared
On my monitor
The dark woods are back there

Her shirt’s a little high
Pant’s a little low
She’s looking quite a lot like Gwyneth Paltrow
She’s at a gas station
In northern Florida

I never should have known
I didn’t want to see that girl

On my monitor the next day
She’s there, still scared
But they’ll find her in the woods
That’s how the story ends
They’ll interview her mom
A couple of her friends
I dragged her off the screen
He dragged her by the wrist
She looked around confused
Too frightened to resist
Who can resist?

Small Pond Music (BMI)

Pretty Creatures (Jody Harris)

Pretty creatures, with eyes of steel,
confess the Mystery of Sex Appeal
Pretty creatures in evening clothes
talk about the Inviolate Rose
Slender paws, poised to make polite applause
The Hag above
turns her face
to the lovely breeze

But when you’re dead, and all is said and done,
will the little things you do live on?
Cherchez, cherchez
la famine et la peste –
pretty creatures need their rest

And so to bed – send out the raveled sleeve
to be made new (in the Perfect Laundry)
How sweet the pause . . .
And then, another cabbalistic interview
with the elusive
Santa Claus

Do I dare to eat a peach?
You know it ain’t no sin
to take off
your skin

A nameless dread breathes within
the creatures of fame –
penguins jostling on the brink
of the Last Hurrah
Who will be the one to pierce
the ghostly membrane?
And will there be tigers there –
or aspic?
Or Shangri La?

Copyright Control Jody Harris

See What Happens (Jody Harris)

So you took the pony down
child of mine
and the bloody night
has a silver lining
See what happens

So you picked the Queen of Pain
and she came through, like a champ
Put your money on
the red or the black
See what happens

I lived like a thief and it tore me in two
Where have you been?
The moon belongs to the one who suffers
and the one who loves
I would do it all again

And baby I love you
See what happens
And your mystery shines
See what happens

Copyright Control Jody Harris

Sleeping on the Job (Peter Blegvad)

I caught him sleeping on the job again,
why’d we have to hire such a slob again?
I caught him sleeping…

He promised not to do it again,
he had trouble at home,
I let him explain,
then I gave him the sack,
threw him out in the rain,
I caught him sleeping,
sleeping on the job.

Oh you can’t make pants
when you’re asleep on your feet.
He knows the rules
we got a quota to meet…

I showed him no mercy,
I showed him the door,
he looked like he had never seen a door before,
then he closed his eyes
and began to snore.

I caught him sleeping,
sleeping on the job.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Something Went Wrong (Dave Schramm)

Something went wrong
as we muddled along
we never noticed it
try to repair
while the pieces are there
(but not for long)
now there’s a memory to fade away

something is gone
that we counted on
we never thought of twice
she thinks it’s a shame
that there’ll be no refrain
in our last song
thinking of all that she’ll be missing

something we knew
we’ve forgotten that too
remember when
somehow there’s hope for us
she’ll listen and see

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Third Time a Charm (Dave Schramm)

You walked in you walked out
and left me no doubt
if time heals or time tells
it’s high time we found out
so I release you I release you
from the words we spoke when

but I’ll be good (you won’t know me)
like I should, like a new man
but you know and I know
we may never be right
so I write

you walked in you walked out
and left me no doubt
if time heals or time tells
it’s high time we found out
so I release you I release you
from the words we spoke when

but not so fast, I’ve an idea
it’s all in the past (you won’t know me)
but soon I’ll be holding on with only one hand
now I understand

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

True Love (Jody Harris)

True love is diamonds
in the dark
Somebody talkin bout true love
Buy the Moon
lonely heart
She’s talking about
True love, true love, true love
Talking…
Back to back
on Flores Street
Face to face in dreamland
Some kind of strangers when we meet
Some kind of Hollywood friends
All the dusty things I do
dusty things I do
And the ruby tail lights winding down
Rose Avenue
So true love is diamonds
you hold in your hand
But who is the Light
that knows they shine?
Buy the Moon,
Pay on time
She’s talking about
True love, true love, true love
Talking…

Copyright Control Jody Harris

Under the Influence (Dave Schramm)

Here – here we go
now we’re gone – gone who knows where
there inside the cloud – it’s not so loud – in the thin air
now it’s all the same to me

Long – long ago – I didn’t know – what I was missing
still I found my way – until today – now I can say that
now it’s all the same to me

Six of us and Brother Lou
Farmer Jean and who knows who
I never knew their names

On and on and on and on and
down and down and down and down
around around around around

you and you and you and you and
me and me and me and me will
see the world the world you see
it’s all the same to me

a swirl of starry stars aloft
they show no sign of cooling off
you wondered why I flipped you off
I don’t know
a snifter and a wrinkled hat
who would have thought I’d fancy that
it’s so much trouble just lying flat
you don’t know
it’s all the same to me

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

Vic on Vic (Victoria Williams)

i will go ahead and say what i can only just sing about
getting down to the unrehearsed cracked shell
may we meet again someday or today……
two peas in a pod went riding down the avenue together
pointing out all that they seen
like some crazy bird with black crown between us
i wanted so bad to lift you up…
oh but this is the only kind of exercise you have
watching you rise and fall didn’t those minutes pass
with applause at last
you were so strong you got yourself out
you were soooo strong you got yourself out
so i had to resist the desire to help
i —- and everyone else

Copyright Control Victoria Williams

The Way (Dave Schramm)
it’s the way you fold your paper
or the way you file your nails
it’s the way you look right through me
and the way you comb your hair

it’s the way you talk to strangers
or the way you say your prayers
it’s the way you ask your questions then
walk away like no one’s there

Five four three two one by one

Hot Stove Music (BMI)

We Fell Through a Crack in the World (Peter Blegvad)

We fell through a crack
in the world,
and down into hell
we were hurled.
But we met an old friend
who’d met the same end,
so now although we scream and moan
at least we know we’re not alone.

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Winner Came There None (Peter Blegvad)
She believed with all her heart
a race was being run.
She hadn’t seen it start,
she had to see it done.

With this in mind she drew a line
and waited in the sun
to welcome in the winner,
but winner came there none.

The finish line became a shrine
where she prayed all day in vain.
She prayed all night,
her hair turned white,
but winner never came.

She shot herself at 60
with a starter’s gun.
No one heard her final word:
“winner came there none.”

copyright control Peter Blegvad

Young Again, in Shillington (Kate Jacobs)

Very disappointed to read
his last poem
in this magazine
The last one he will ever write
He’s gently gone, in that good night

Very disconcerting to find
the last thing
that he had on his mind
to tell me
at the every end
He wished that he was young again
what a letdown
oh what a letdown

The childhood streets
the sticky sheets
the girls he always chanced to meet
the God he feared
the wives he loved
the child the child the child the child he was
in Shillington

Very hard to read the last line
a farewell you would not call resigned
But heartfelt thanks to childhood friends
and words that served him to the end
he wished that he was young again
in Shillington